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Friday, June 20, 2014

House of Hollow Wind (Mini Blog-Series Part 5)

A little
while later, still sleepy from my restless night before, I’d reclined to the
bed with one of Vanessa’s mystery novels when I heard a soft rap on the
door.

“Yes, who is
it?” I called tentively and yawned,
despite the early afternoon hour.

“It’s me,”
came a gruff male voice as he opened the door and stuck his head inside. “Libby
sent me up with your luggage.”

Now that I
had a closer view, I realized how handsome the young man was. He looked to be in his mid-twenties and
sported the kind of rugged good looks you could expect in a plow hand. His tight, red long-sleeved shirt accentuated
some hefty biceps and I caught my gaze lingering upon his contour a bit longer
than necessary. He had curly blonde
hair, and a natural half smile that looked sort of like a smirk, depending on
the general tilt of his head. He was
certainly a looker. I could understand
why Vanessa had found him attractive.

“Oh I
see,” I touched my hair in a
subconscious effort to quail the static electricity, realizing with
embarrassment that I’d just been staring and he was still waiting for me to
answer. “Please bring it in, you must be
Greg.”

“That’s my
name,” was his retort, not bothering to give me so much as a glance. “I guess you could call me the handy
man. I’m usually about if you need
anything else.” He looked around the
room for a moment. “Not that I expect you do, looks as if you are well settled
in.”

His rudeness
could not be mistaken and I felt my cheeks redden in anger. What an unfriendly introduction! My mouth fell open as I watched him make his
way to the door.

“Just a
second, please,” my attempt not to sound angry faltered, I felt this man at
least owned me the consideration of a proper introduction, considering he might
have information about Vanessa. I
desperately wanted to know if she was okay.
I could understand her reluctance to contact my grandparents if she was
angry, but according to Libby, she and Greg had been close friends.

“I’m kind of
in a hurry, got a lot of work to get done today. Is there something else I can do for you—“

“Aubrey,” I
said pointedly. “My name is Aubrey. And I understand you and Vanessa were close
friends. From what I gather, no one has
heard from her in weeks. I was just
wondering if maybe you’d heard from her.”

“If no one
else has heard from her, what makes you think I would, Aubrey?” His eyes flicked angrily as he grabbed the
doorknob pointedly. Obviously the
question had hit a raw nerve, or else he was still heart broken and angry at
Vanessa’s rejection.

“I just
thought maybe she told you where she was going before she left,” I said. “It’s not like her to just totally disappear,
especially if she knew I was coming here. I know she was probably excited to
see me.”

“I see,” he
sneered at me, his eyes ablaze. “So you
feel she’s snubbed you by running off with that scoundrel Keith before giving
you a proper goodbye. Well, if it’s any
consolation to you, I’m sure that’s not what happened.”

I was taken
aback. I’m not sure what affected me the
most, his blatant anger towards Vanessa or his insulting attitude towards my
concern. Whatever falling out he’d had
with Vanessa, I was sure had turned him this bitter. I could never fathom her spending time with
someone so stand-offish and angry, not the light-hearted happy-go-lucky girl
who’d written me countless letters full of bubbly observations.

“What do you
mean?” I narrowed my eyes, demanding an explanation. “If it’s not true that she ran off with this
Keith character, then where do you think she is because she’s sure not anywhere
around here!” I threw my hands up in
frustration.

Greg turned
toward me, closing the few steps between us.
He was close enough that I could feel his breath on my face.

“I don’t
know where she is any more than anyone else does. Despite the rumors I’m sure you’ve got
bouncing around in your pretty head, there was nothing between Vanessa and I
but a friendship. I looked out for her
when I could,” he looked pained, his face reddened. “I don’t know what to tell you, other than
there’s something real fishy going on around here. If I were you I wouldn’t bother with playing
the part of Nancy Drew. If you want my
advice you need to leave here. And now,
tonight!”

With those
words he threw the door open and shut it loudly behind him. I stood there for a few moments, too shaken
to move. This was the second time
someone had warned me away in less than twenty-four hours. I shivered as I leaned against the door. I could not leave yet, the meager savings I
had would not allow me to live anywhere else.
Besides, Vanessa was like a sister to me. I owed it to her to make sure she was okay. I had no other choice but to stay.

House of Hollow Wind

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Torn From Him by Death

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(Stacy) I am a psychologist and aspiring poet. I dabble in digital and collage art. But what I love to do most is cuddle up with a great book (especially my beloved gothic romances!) and a tasty cup of coffee (iced, hot, latte...it's an unhealthy obsession, so no huge preferences are required). I enjoy old b horror movies, small town fairs and vintage things. When I'm not reading you can find me blogging, writing poetry, honing my photoshop skills, watching movies and spending quality time with my family. Click my pic to visit my personal blog!

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